Plant Sale

Today, there was a plant sale next door at Elaine's, run by her friend Valerie as a benefit for the high school swim club.  Valerie lives in Black Creek but thought she could make a better sale here in Seymour.  It took a week to set up, collecting plants from Elaine and Valerie's gardens, as well as mine.  There were hundreds of plants, in dozens of varieties.  

When I woke up this morning, Valerie and her husband were already setting up, so I took my cup of tea and helped out by hammering signs into the ground that indicated the kinds of plants that were for sale.  As I worked, I thought about what I should buy at the bargain price of $2 per each perennial plant, but I had several problems.  I already had almost every plant. I didn't have any room in my gardens.  I am leaving for Laura Lake on Monday and am running short of time.  I told Valerie I would wait until she was done for the day and if she still had creeping phlox, I would buy it to put on the terrace strip, which Gary and I agree should be planted with various ground covers.  It was a mess since the city made me dig up all the flowers last year.     

Chris and Tisha brought Evan over to celebrate his seventh birthday. We went out to eat, opened presents, then Tisha and I went over to look at the sale again, but when she looked at my gardens, that was where she found the plants she wanted.  It didn't seem to be a nice idea to go digging plants when there was a sale going on next door, so we agreed she would come back next week.  

Meanwhile, Debbie, who lives on the other side of my property, asked me to come over on a consultation. Debbie has gotten most of her flowers from me over the years.  A year ago, she started a shade garden.  First, she wanted me to identify a couple of plants.  As it turned out, Virginia watersweet and comfrey had wandered over from my yard.  We also discussed what plants she might plant there, then she went over to the Elaine's and bought them.  

I went back to the plant sale at 4:00 pm, and there were still two pink creeping phlox plants left.  I bought them and that's when I realized that Valerie had gotten them a year ago from my terrace strip when the city demanded that I dig everything up.  They had moved to Black Creek and then come home at a cost of $4 to me. 

Oh well, the swim club can use the money.